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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25355950">bury me with the stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hqunjins/pseuds/hqunjins'>hqunjins</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Space, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Awkward Tension, Chicken Soup, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Outer Space, Platonic Cuddling, Reunions, honestly it’s up to you what you think, they both hated each other and now it’s kind of awkward</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:54:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25355950</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hqunjins/pseuds/hqunjins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“if only hyunjin could capture the surreal magnificence of the landscape of stars, nebulas and planets surrounding him in a single frame.”</p><p>or hyunjin has been lost in space alone for five years and he encounters the unexpected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jisung | Han &amp; Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>bury me with the stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hiiii this is my first fic lmao so it would be great for feedback if you have any, as i’m planning to write a sequel later. overall it’s not very eventful but i hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>if only hyunjin could capture the surreal magnificence of the landscape of stars, nebulas and planets surrounding him in a single frame.</p><p>however, the quality would distort and the image would warp into something that was simply unjust compared to the beauty that it really was. although photographs were very useful for keeping and collecting memories, hyunjin disliked taking them. he was never one for researching or documenting anyways, but this was truly a moment he wished to relive over and over. he considered himself to be somewhat fortunate in having the opportunity to continuously experience the sight as if it were the first time.</p><p>he did not need photographs to show his friends and family all the marvels he saw. hyunjin had been alone for the five years following his graduation day from the space piloting academy, leading him to the present day. the high-tech ship he was gifted with as a reward for being the best young pilot of their generation malfunctioned and sent him into an unknown galaxy and to a set of coordinates that was unfrequented by humans. </p><p>photographs were simply a reminder that he had forgotten where his home was.</p><p>his test run had turned into an unintentional swerve away from any chance of mending relationships that were a little frayed. the love between himself and his friends and family seemed to dissipate into the empty space he left back home. perhaps it never mattered all too much. those relationships soon became nonexistent.</p><p>so now, as he sat in his pilot’s chair in a barely moving ship surrounded by an old, familiar and yet still exhilarating sight, he considered naming the planets he saw as people he could remember. he never wanted to forget; every single encounter he had at the age of eighteen was vital to forming who he became while isolated on a spaceship surrounded by no human life. he owed as much to them. </p><p>hyunjin leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on his control board, folding his hands behind his head as a cushion and interlocking his fingers as his eyes drank in the marvellous intricacy of space. he began with his mother, his father, his childhood friends, his instructors, his best friend— he cast out every single name into the vast, freezing nothingness before him.</p><p>except for one.</p><p>the name allowed a steady drip of melancholy to drip into his gut. the name ignited confusion in his chest, a weird sensation of guilt gripping his throat. regret manifested itself in his eyebrows as they furrowed while his dark eyes searching for some phenomenon that he could name after him. after a few moments of searching, he saw it.</p><p>it was a weird shape: a strange, glowing shape that appeared in the distance. hyunjin had never seen anything quite like it. in his five years of travelling throughout space, manoeuvring with his refined skill through fields of asteroids and hauling his ship out of the clutches of a black hole, he had never seen such an occurrence. he lifted his feet off the control board and stood up, walking towards the windshield. his heart giggled in anticipation, having been deprived of an adventure into the unknown for a while. some kind of energy drew him towards the form, and it was nothing hyunjin could ever describe. it was so compelling, like a soothing voice coaxing him out of hiding. his fingers shook ever so slightly as he quickly entered the coding he needed to into the holographic keyboard in order to turn the ship’s headlights on and begin to move forward.</p><p>and as he approached, the shaking in his hands ceased as his body froze in horror and the realisation that it was a human figure floating and freezing in outer space.</p><p>hyunjin’s legs moved faster than his mind could even process the familiar shape of another human being. his heart’s palpitations were no longer childish and immature, but rather represented thousands of alarms signalling simultaneously. his mind was crowded with noise created by the clutter of thoughts swarming in and occupying the space. he found himself, helmet and space suit on, in the airlock, securing the rope around the loops on his waist and pressing the button for release.</p><p>he ached to move towards the body faster, but the best his limbs could do was direct his floating. the clock in his brain was screaming at him, telling him time was running out. the tick and tock of the seconds hand vibrated through his bones as the body gradually became larger. it was lucent: illuminated by the millions of stars surrounding hyunjin and the ship. hyunjin briefly thought that he had come across an angel. or maybe it was the frost blanketing his frozen being reflecting the show of lights surrounding hyunjin and the possible corpse. he extended himself as far as he could to touch the body. he gently took hold of the arm and pulled to bring the body to him, and for a moment, he believed his oxygen tank had run out.</p><p>jisung. han jisung.</p><p>the name had been on hyunjin’s tongue minutes ago, waiting for the perfect time to roll out and collide with the air to become the name of the stunning, new phenomenon he had just encountered. the name reminded hyunjin of who built his endurance and his thicker skin and made him push himself beyond his limits in order to achieve the best he could at the academy.</p><p>han jisung… how did i find you here?</p><p>he held jisung’s body close to his chest, cradling the back of his head with care as he did not know if the slightest harsh movement would break him. he couldn’t afford to be so reckless when there could be a chance— when there had to be a chance that he would live. hyunjin prayed to whatever powerful beings were listening to give the man in his arms a heartbeat, however faint. he urged his own body heat to seep through his suit and warm jisung’s grey, frigid skin. he hoped that, by some miracle, jisung was a champion at holding his breath.</p><p>once the large metal doors of the airlock clanged shut and gravity was restored again, hyunjin’s knees buckled beneath his own body weight and the weight of the frozen body he was carrying. he had no knowledge to be able to deduce how long jisung had been floating there for, but he almost tore his helmet off after removing the rope around his waist and picked jisung up once more.</p><p>he trudged to the warmest part of the ship by the engines and took his suit off, hoping that the insulation and the remnants of hyunjin’s body heat inside the suit provided some aid to jisung’s state. once he zipped him in, he raised a weak hand to press two fingers against his pulse point. he breathed steadily, focusing all his energy into feeling with his fingers rather than hearing the obnoxiously loud and rapid racing of his heart.</p><p>there it is.</p><p>it was faint and meek, but there. he felt the shallow beat of jisung’s heart against his fingers, and he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, letting his head relax and drop forwards so his chin rested against his own chest. then, he stood and ran across the ship, collecting blankets and other thick, comfortable materials that could insulate jisung and provide him with warmth. he couldn’t die now. not jisung.</p><p>not the same jisung who gave him hell throughout their training at the academy. not the same jisung who cursed at him and told him he was going to become the best pilot the stars had ever seen. the stars had not yet seen enough of jisung; they were yearning for more.</p><p>it was almost as if jisung provided their luminosity and lux, and their vibrance flickered throughout each individual galaxy, fuelled by his passion and positivity. although, hyunjin never seemed to be on the receiving end of the latter. it never phased him at the time, as he was much too busy focusing his own negativity onto jisung, but now, as hyunjin knelt beside the blue haired man, he found himself wondering how they ended up like this. hyunjin was far too lonely for it to be healthy, not when he simply flowered when surrounded by others as enthusiastic as he was. and jisung was almost a corpse illuminated by the space around him, buried amongst the stars.</p><p>together, jisung asleep and hyunjin not, they drifted slowly throughout galaxies while hyunjin softly spoke of the marvels he’d encountered during his years alone to ears that were not listening.</p><p>despite the silence and jisung being unresponsive, hyunjin felt like his social battery had recharged and was now powered by uranium. 4.5 billion years of social energy was a slight exaggeration, but nonetheless, perfectly described how he felt. having another human presence on board was almost foreign to him, and he knew that his excitement to socialise with jisung was more of a desire to release the questions he was itching to ask, forgetting all past rivalries. </p><p>how did he get to the middle of nowhere? where has he been for five years? what has he done? how is everyone? did he meet aliens?</p><p>jisung woke a few hours into their journey, and was perplexed as he gazed at the blur of white, grey and black straight ahead. hyunjin was dozing off beside him, having prepared a tin of soup in a mug and neglected it in favour of a good nap on the floor beside jisung.</p><p>“no.”</p><p>the first word jisung spoke certainly left an impression as he startled hyunjin back to the present, causing a splash of chicken noodle soup to fall on his pants.</p><p>“no? oh my god, you’re not coherent,” hyunjin replied in a panic as he set the mug down and raised the back of his hand to jisung’s forehead, checking his temperature.</p><p>“what? no, no- i am coherent,” jisung shifted and pushed himself up so he was sitting upright. he seemed to pause and stare at hyunjin, taking him in. hyunjin quickly looked away, pretending to suddenly be extremely interested in the status of their journey.</p><p>somehow, for whatever reason, hyunjin did not feel like he was under scrutiny. unlike how, five years ago at the pilot academy, jisung would stare at him with venomous eyes and criticise his every move. presently, hyunjin came to the reasonable conclusion that jisung was staring at him out of simple confusion, having just woken up from a long sleep.</p><p>it was funny how, although hyunjin was used to only experiencing jisung unleashing his anger onto him, he felt as if he already knew jisung’s nice side.</p><p>of course, hyunjin was not innocent either. it's not like he tried to remedy their relationship by confronting jisung in hopes of moving past their petty rivalry. no, of course not. hyunjin had acted on the anger he felt which stemmed from the insecurity rising up in his throat every time he caught jisung’s glare. the words he had spat at jisung were out of self-consciousness, not rage. albeit, there was certainly a slight tinge of annoyance behind his sentences.</p><p>sure, jisung’s insults had made him self-conscious then - and hyunjin was almost certain that his own words had done the same to jisung - but this was a different kind of self-conscious. this was the kind of insecurity that came from years spent alone in his spaceship with only the company of the cactus in his quarters. earlier, he had been excited about talking to someone that wasn’t the robot that controlled the auto pilot system of his ship. however, that excitement and anticipation quickly manifested itself into an unhealthy dose of awkwardness and the realisation that he had practically become unfamiliar with how to socialise normally.</p><p>when he finally made eye contact with jisung again, he smiled at him almost apologetically and patted his knee. jisung blinked at him a few times, eyes flickering between hyunjin’s hand and hyunjin’s face with an expression on his own that hyunjin found himself unable to read.</p><p>“are you okay?” jisung asked him, smiling back at hyunjin, except in a concerned manner. hyunjin felt like it was odd for jisung to be the one asking that question, but nonetheless, he answered him.</p><p>“i’m fine. just have soup on my pants.”</p><p>jisung chuckled at his response and hyunjin definitely understood that it was awkward. they both shifted slightly. it wasn’t like they knew what they had in common because of a previous, old friendship. aside from knowing what made the other tick, they were as foreign to each other as each next kilometre of space.</p><p>hyunjin settled on asking if jisung liked chicken noodle soup, and offered him the forgotten mug beside him. jisung was about to refuse the offer politely when he felt his stomach complain and grunt in distress, so he accepted it gratefully, digging into the soup immediately. his navy blue hair kept falling into his eyes, and he shook his head slightly to try to move it aside without taking his hands off the lukewarm cup of soup. hyunjin thought jisung’s new hair suited him, though he still wouldn’t admit it aloud.</p><p>if he was being completely unbiased, completely objective and speaking from someone else’s standpoint, han jisung was pretty.</p><p>incredibly so.</p><p>even back on earth, hyunjin always seemed to notice a spark in jisung’s round eyes, although it normally was a spark of irritation rather than something along the lines of awe. and now, with stars shining their light graciously through the window panels of the spaceship, jisung’s eyes reflect that same spark, and while it was not a dangerous flicker anymore, it still held some kind of passion.</p><p>and hyunjin was, for whatever reason, glad that jisung was so strong.</p><p>but it was alright to not be strong. </p><p>somehow, in a moment of vulnerability a few hours later, jisung still was strong in hyunjin’s eyes. he was strong because, despite their rivalry as pilots, he came to hyunjin’s quarters after they settled down to sleep and asked if he could hold him. he felt cold. and hyunjin admired the way he came to ask, and when he nodded in response to his question with a soft, gentle smile, he hoped that he could provide jisung the warmth he needed as they drifted and became more lost in the stars.</p>
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